Process of refining vegetable oils



Nov. 3, 1925. 1,560,084

C. H. HAPGOOD ET AL PROCESS OF RFFINING VEGETABLE OILS Filed Feb. 6, 1924 INVENTORS WIT/V566 C'yras fi owara Hawyaod 600776 Mayne M Y flm ma Patented Nov. 3, 1925. i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CYRUS HOWARD HLPGOOD, OI norm, AND GEORGE E. MAYNO, OF EAST ORANGE,

NEW mm, ASSIGNOBS TO THE DE LA'VAL SEPABATOR COMPANY, OF N. Y., A CORPORATION 01 NEW JERSEY. I

NEW YORK,

01' DEFINING VEGETABLE OILS.

Application filed February 8, 1884. lerial No. 890,904.

To all whom it may comm: v

Be it known that we, Crnus HOWARD Harooon and Gnome F. Munro, citizens of .the United States, residing at Nutley and East Orange, respectively, county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented anew and useful Im rovement in Processes of ll-cfimng Vegetaiile Oils, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference the free oil.

bein had to the accompanying drawings, whic form at art of this specification.

In a. patent issued to as May 29, 1923, No. 1,457,072, is set forth'a process of refining vegetable oils in which a stream of a saponlfymg agent. flows into contact with a stream of 011, the oil and saponifying agent being mechanically mixed during the flow to only the degree retiuired to effect a pr nnary saponification 0 the fatty acids without saponification of a substantial roportlon of Immediately hereafter the flowing mixture of oil and soap was admitted to a centrifugal arator, wherem the constituents were admixed for a relative] short time, effecting a secondary saponi cation of fatty acids followed by centrifugal separation and se arate discharge of Oll and soap. Therea, er the oil was treated with an mert clarifying a nt.

Our present object is to provide a process intended for the same purpose and WlllCll, although embodying certain of the patented features, is an improvement on the patented process. Special objects are: to mamtain as short as possible the time requlred for agitation of the oil and saponifying agent and yet effect complete saponification of the fatty acids while avoiding saponification of any part of the oil itself; to make 1t feasible to use, as nearly as possible, just the amount of saponifying agent required to saponify the fatty acid and little or no more; to effect a more thorough decolorization of the oil; to reduce the refining loss; and to produce a soap stock of enhanced value.

In processes heretofore in use, the action of the caustic soda or other saponifying agent on the oil has been uncertain on account of the varyin nature of the gums, resins, albumens an other similar bodies present in the crude oil. The caustic soda must remove these materials as well as the fatty acids. It has necessary, therefore, to use an excessive amount of caustic soda. In our patented rocess the excess amount of caustic soda is reduced and by reason of the continuity of the process and other features hereinbefore recited, more satisfactory products have been obtained, but still with substantial room for improvement in regard to the several objects, hereinbefore recited, of the present invention.

The objects of the present invention are secured by retaining certain features of the patented process but with important'modifications, such as the elimination from the oil of the albumens, resins and gums before admixture with the oil of the caustic soda, so that the only function left to the caustic soda to rform is the neutralization of the fatty acids. Limited to this function, it is only necessary to ascertain the percentage of fatty acid present in the oil and adjust the strength of lye to conform thereto. Thereby. the oil is separated out without substantial loss, and it is of excellent color and substantial] free from fatty acid; while a sea stoc nearly water white, and of enhance value, can be recovered.

The process is applicable to the purification of all vegetab e oils; for example, cotton oil, corn oil, soya. bean oil, peanut oil.

The execution of the process is not dependent on the employment of any particua-r apparatus, and indeed, in the apparatus that we preferably employ, no novelty resides in any of the separate instrumentalities of the ap arartus, although they are associated toget er in a new relation. It is, therefore, unnecessary to illustrate the apparatus in detail, the drawing being a diagram of the apparatus that we prefer to use.

The crude oi is pumped into a. large agitating scale tank a, wherein it is heated to a fem raturo of from to 220 F., preferab y at about the highest tem ra-ture in this range. The oil continuous y runs by gravity into a mixer, such as a centrifugal mill 6.

The tank 0 contains an inert clarifying sary. We prefer filtro, which is a well known and readily procurable, commercial clarifying and decolorizing agent compounded by a secret process and whose chemical composition or method of preparation we cannot with certainty specify. The clarifying and bleaching agent is admixed with sufiicient of the oil to be refined to allow it to continuously flow freely by gravity to the mixer b.

In this mixer the ingredients are thoroughly agitated and continuously discharge into a pipe (1 leading to a weir tank 6, through which, also, there is a continuous flow. This tank may be a closed receptacle provided with pairs of partitions f-and g, forming a series of compartments h. Some of the clarifying and bleaching agent settles in the first compartment k; the oil, with the remainder of such agent, flowing over the first plate f as a weir and down between such plate and adjacent plate g into the second compartment h. Herein, as well as in the third compartment 72-, there is a further partial separation and settlement; the oil discharging into the pipe 71 being largely freed of the clarifying and bleaching agent, which has almost completely removed the gums, resins, albumens and color bodies generally, present in the original oil.

The decolorized oil discharges into a cen: trifugal clarifier j (which is, preferably, a centrifuge with but one outlet), wherein all suspended matter, including the clarifying and bleaching agent,-is removed. The thus F cleaned oil discharged from the clarifier passes through a pipe 71; which extends through a temperature changer m, which cools the oil to (say) from to 120 F. Into the flowing stream of cooled oil is discharged caustic soda, or another suitable sa- 'mnifying agent, which continuously flows into pipe is from a tank 11. It is possible to quite accurately predetermine the rate of flow of the caustic soda relative to the rate of flow of oil, so as to mix with the oil just the quantity of caustic soda needed to saponify the fatty acids of the oil and n'actically no more. It is advisable to run't'he flowing mixture through a mechanical mixer 0 (which may be similar to mixer 7)) in order to insure an intimate contact between the fatty acids and the saponifying agent; but. the time of admixture need be relatively short to produce the break required for settlement of the soap stock. The mixture or emulsion then discharges into a centrifugal separator 1), wherein there is a meas' urable secondary saponification. In the separator, oil is separated from the sea The 011 is pumped to any desired place, sue 1 as special process plants, filtering plants, etc. The soap stock is pumped to storage or to acidulatin tanks.

The process, it will be noted, is a continuous one. It may be operated,eif desired, for

twenty-four hours or more. may then be washed out with a small quantity of hot water without stopping the process or removing any of the tinware.

The resultant yellow or refined oil is neutral, free from fatty acid, soap, insoluble impurities and moisture. No measurable quantity of oil is retained by the clarifying and bleaching agent or earned out with the soap, thus avoiding a refining loss which, in ordinary processes, is quite serious.

In the practice of the process, it is preferable that the whole apparatus shall be closed to the atmosphere.

' Having now fully described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect by Let ters Patent is: I

1. A continuous process for refining vegetable oils which comprises heating the oil and subjecting it to the action of a clarifying and bleaching agent, removing said agent together with the impurities carried ofl thereby, then mixing the decolorized oil, still containing its fatty acids but otherwise purified, with a saponifying agent in proportions adapted to effect a maximum saponification of fatty acids and a minimum saponification of oil, and separating the oil and soaps.

2. A continuous process for refining vegetable oils which comprises flowing a stream of a clarifying and bleaching agent into contact with a flowing stream of heated oil and subjecting the flowing mixture to a mixing action, then separating the oil from the filtering and bleaching agent and the impurities carried off thereby, then flowing the oil into contact with a flowing stream of a saponifying agent and subjecting the same to a mixing action the proportion of the saponifying agent added being such as to effect saponiflcation of the fatty acids without substantial saponification of the oil, and subjecting the flowing stream of oil and soaps to centrifugal force to (affect their separation.

3. A continuous process for refining vegetable oils which com )riscs flowing a stream of a clarifying and bl eaching agent into contact with a flowing stream of heated oil and subjecting the flowing mixture to a mixing action, then separating the oil from the filtering and bleaching agent and the impurities carried off thereby, then cooling the oil and flowing it into contact with a flowing stream of a saponifying agent and subjecting the same to a mixing action, the proportion of the saponifyingagent added being such as to effect sapomfication of the fatty acids without substantial saponification of the oil, and subjecting the flowing streamof oil and soaps to centrifugal force to effect their separation. y

4 A continuous process, for refining vegetable oils which comprises flowing a stream The mechanism the color bodies in the original oil, subject-.-

ing the thus largely purified oil to centrifugal force to effect a substantially complete removal of suspended matter, flowing it into contact with a flowing stream of asaponifying agent and subjecting the same to a mlxing action, the proportion of the saiponifying agent added being such as to e ect saponification of substantially all the fatty acids without substantial sap0nification of the oil, and subjecting the flowing stream of oil and soaps to centrifugal force to effect their separation.

"5. A continuous process for refining vegetable oils which comprises flowing a stream of a clarifying and bleaching agent into contact with a flowing stream of heated oil, subjecting the flowing mixture to a mixing action and then to gravity settlement to remove the larger art of said agent and ofthe color bodies 111 the original oil, subjecting the thus largely purified oil to centrifugal force to effect a substantially complete removal of suspended matter, cooling the oil and flowing it into contact ,with a flowing stream of a saponifying agent and subjecting the same to a mixing action the proportion of the saponifyin agent added being such as to eflect saponi catlon of substantially all the fatty acids without substantial saponification of the oil, and subjecting the flowing stream of oil and soaps to centrifugal force to eflect their separation.

In testimony of which invention, I, CYRUS HOWARD HAPGOOD, have hereunto set hand at New York city, New York, on thls 1st day of February, 1924,. and I, GEORGE F. MAYNO, have hereunto set my hand at New York city, New, York, on this 1st day of February, 1924.

CYRUS HOWARD HAPGOOD. GEORGE FREEBORN MAYNO. 

